Episode 01: "First Day"
(Sunday, 06/24/2018, approx 5 hours) This episode opens with 4 recently awakened, untrained mages, receiving a letter of acceptance at the Howard Phillips Academy, a school for mages that masquerades as a regular private highschool, to hone their craft and become more knowledgeable in the World Supernal. They each arrive seperately the Sunday before the first day of school, greeted by some of the teaching faculty, some group leaders, as well as the headmistress herself, August Huddleston. When she sees each of our mages arrive, with their family or on their own, she has an older student welcome them and gather them up in a small crowd of other wide eyed, excited students. As they wait for further instruction and the school visit, they introduce themselves (by their shadow names): * HOLLAND, the slightly older 16 year old Mastigos Apprentice. Seems to have responsibilities within the group. Is the one to guide the newly arrived mages. * FORTUNA, a 19 year old Disciple of the Acanthus path. She is rather jovial and easy to talk to. * GUY, a 16 year old Apprentice of the Obrimos path. * SHADE, a 17 year old Disciple of Mastigos. Very no-nonsense, ever serious, always wearing a pristine uniform. * EPIPHANY, an 18 year old dazed and distracted young woman, perpetually in a state of wide eyed wonder and fascination. * LOCKE, a 12 year old shy young boy, eager to make friends. He is of the Moros path (Initiate). * LANA, a 15 year old Initiate of Thyrsus. A warm looking young girl, albeit reserved. * BONE, a 16 year old Acanthus Initiate, stern, aloof, a bit selective in who he talks to. The we have our protagonists, also Initiates: * CAÏN, a 20 year old Initiate of Acanthus. Tall, lanky, tired and blazé looking, a bit curt with people. * PREMIUM QUASAR, a 16 year old giant of a young man. Built like a tree trunk, dressed in button down with a vest and skirt, always smiling, exuding joy. * DESMOND, a 14 year old boy, Initiate of Obrimos. He is rather silent, drawn into himself, a bit of an emo, with a fiery character hidden deep within his stare. * MC DÉTRESSE, a 15 year old girl. Initiate of Mastigos. Also withdrawn, seeming exasperated or annoyed with things around her, especially her parents. She is a health goth. They visit the school, are ushered into their cabal's common room as well as their respective dormitories (one for girls, one for boys). Classes begin the next day, mundane and arcane. The basics of magic are taught, as well as the core tennets to absolutely abide by. They learn their very first rote, that of the various "Mage Sight" spells from each Arcana. At the end of the week, rumors abound of an inter-cabal party at the school's pôol, after curfew. Most of the cabal goes, of course, to get to know other students and unwind a little. Once there, marvelous sights and sounds await the young mages. The pool happens to be multiple times larger inside than out, music plays and wondrous eldritch sounds reverberate throughout the pool, without ever leaving the confines of the room, lights pulse and rain as if timed to the EDM music playing. over one hundred students mingle and dance around, and in one corner a young turns coolers full of water into alcoholic beverages. Everything seems to go well until, one mage brings in sleepers to join the party. The moment they step inside, they turn catatonic, and at the very same time, all hell breaks loose in the pool. Reality bends and breaks over the middle of the pool, all spells go haywire, and the room goes dead silent. Then a rift forms and spirits, creatures and a lone robed man fall through. A chaotic battle ensues, with fledgling mages attempting to stop the creatures with magic they barely understand. However, the mysterious stranger, seemingly quite adept at the arcane, channels left and right, assisting the others and manipulating shadows with unique deftness. The battle ends with the creatures defeated, and the principle and vice principle appearing out of thin air, ordering the students out of the pool, and attempting to control the rift, all the while trying to understand who the man is, and where exactly he came from. Many other teachers swarm in, trying to make sure the students are ok, but immediately asking questions. As well as escorting the sleeper students away, while attempting to convince them of obvious lies to explain the cacophonous displays they had just witnessed.